


The Shadows of Winters' Past

by LyrZetara



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Christmas, Christmasfic, Heartwarming, Holiday Season, Lena bonds through cooking and food, Lena heals her past through helping others, Lena volunteers at the homeless shelter, Some feels, saberwing sisters, up to interpretation, weblena
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:26:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27793030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyrZetara/pseuds/LyrZetara
Summary: Violet thought Christmas Eve should be spent with family, but Lena has been very elusive through the beginning of the holidays and while Vi and Webby fear that maybe she's having a hard time, they discover another truth about how Lena used to face the cold winters before being freed from Magica's control.
Relationships: Lena (Disney: DuckTales) & Webby Vanderquack
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	The Shadows of Winters' Past

Webby finished putting the decorations up the chandelier before doing a backflip, launching into the stair's rail and sliding masterfully from there to stick a perfect landing. She gazed up at her handy work, happy with how it was all coming together.

"Ah! The magic of Christmas" she told herself as the triplets walked by moving the boxes that contained all the ornaments that were still to be hanged.

"As long as you-know-who doesn't show around, I guess we'll have a good one" Louie shrugged coolly.

"Or as long as we catch him!" Dewey added.

"Ow! We could ask for ransom" Louie snapped his fingers "how many toys do you think they would give to get him back?"

Luckily the doorbell interrupted the evil scheme.

"Guys, don't even think about it" Webby called over her shoulder as she went to open the door only to find the hummingbird there in her usual green attire, accompanied this time by a red scarf.

"Greetings, Webbigail. I hope your holiday season has been most pleasing thus far"

"Violet! Merry Christmas to you too!" she launched forward for a hug that the smaller girl answered with a pat on her back "what brings you here?"

"Well, besides my duty to ensure the wellbeing of others in this season as part of the Woodchuck's Samaritan spirit, and ensuring you don't have a gas leak that you are unaware of, I also came looking for Lena"

"Lena?" Webby repeated aback.

"Yes, I've tried contacting her through her mobile all morning; I thought to might as well just come meet her"

"So she isn't with you?" she gazed over her shoulder, but effectively, no one was outside.

Violet's expression almost broke into a frown "You mean to tell me she isn't here?"

"No" Webby shook her head "I haven't seen her all week, I was hoping she would visit though, but I thought all of you were enjoying some family time"

"I see, that's-" she cut herself "most strange, actually" she admitted "Lena's being going out of the house every afternoon and coming back at rather odd hours, I thought she might be visiting you, but given what you've told me, I guess my prediction was wrong" she mused out loud "very well then, I better get going"

"Wait!" Webby urged "you are going to look for her?"

"Naturally"

"I am coming with" she grabbed her gloves.

"Don't you have preparations to attend?"

Webby gazed over her shoulder, seeing how Dewey was hanging upside down from what seemed to be a trap to catch a certain magical polar bear "I'm sure they have everything handled" she said "plus, if Lena's being going on her own to places, maybe she needs some help. This season can be hard on people; I don't think she ever had a real Christmas"

"My thoughts exactly" Violet admitted as they walked to the main gate "A week ago when she arrived past her curfew, dad - Indigo for this particular instance- talked to her in the living room. He looked worried but I don't think he actually forbid her to leave the house, he's been rather busy taking care of my other dad, he has the flu"

"Oh, do you want my Granny to make him some soup?" she offered "her cooking is military degree effective"

"Thank you, but Ty will only eat what Indy prepares"

"That's fair, he's really good" she turned around, unable to ignore the previous topic any longer "Do you think she's alright?" Webby asked "I mean, you live together, has she...been acting weird?"

"I haven't seen a lot of her as of lately. Whenever she's home she's resting, I presume to recover from her all-nighters"

Webby frowned "I wish she had reached out" Webby grumbled feeling a knot on her stomach.

"I for one agree," Violet said in a surprisingly emotive tone, or as emotive as she could express herself "I thought she was settling into the family"

Webby noticed her reaction, so she patted her shoulder "I'm sure it's just a bit of an adjustment"

"That's a likely conclusion" she agreed letting go of her emotions.

"Let's go look at the amphitheater" Webby suggested.

***

Officer Cabrera knocked on the front door, then folding her arms, waiting outside in the chill of the winter day.

When the wooden portal opened the first thing she noticed was Ty lying on the couch next to a pile of used tissues and medicine. Then Indy came into view wearing his apron, clearly it had been a hectic morning.

"Morning Officer" he greeted.

"Mr. Saberwing" she answered "I came for your daughter" she announced, pointing at her police car parked outside "So, where is Lena?"

The teen came into view holding a plate of soup for Ty when her eyes met those of the woman. It was time.

***

"Nothing" Webby grumbled, kicking the trap door after having looked for Lena in the theater's secret room.

"I suppose this should be good news, she's not back into places of the past" Violet pointed out.

"I guess?" Webby jumped down the platform crossing her arms as they walked back into the city "but that doesn't leave a lot of places to look" she said already sounding resigned "how much of a detective you need to be to find your best friend?" she stumbled into Violet, who had stopped walking, gazing intently at the street.

"Apparently, just the charge of officer will do" she pointed at the back of the police car in which the teen in question was seated.

"Lena?!" Webby shouted dumbstruck, but as they tried to chase it, the light turned green and they drove off "Come on! We have to follow them!"

Violet started to run as well while one prominent thought pierced her mind 'the station is in the other direction', so where were they going?

***

The car pulled over as Officer Cabrera opened the door for the teen "Bueno, here we are" she announced letting Lena out "You know, you could have rode in the front, right?"

"Eh, habits" she answered casually, noticing the look the woman gave her. Lena shrugged sheepishly, she felt small under her stare after that admission, and if not for what they were there to do, Cabrera would have scolded her. But instead, she patted her shoulder driving her inside the tents.

"Vamos, we don't want to be late"

Lena smiled radiantly as she ran ahead, moving around the place with familiarity; going directly to the person in charge "Hi Mildred!" she waved, taking an apron, getting ready.

"Lena!" the older woman hugged her tight "Ready for another shift?" she asked ruffling her hair.

"Yeah, what's for dinner tonight?" she asked carrying the heavy boxes to the kitchen.

"Vegetable soup, mash potatoes and meatloaf"

"Sounds like a feast" Lena replied energetically.

Cabrera smiled warmly at the image. When Indigo had called in for a favor, she hadn't expected it to be a carpool to the homeless shelter to help in the food drive. Apparently their new daughter had been going every day for a couple of weeks now and got out at rather late hours and since he couldn't pick her up while Ty was sick, he had thought to ask her. And she had loved to comply. She hadn't expected the rebel teen to be so eager to help out, and she didn't understood her motive until one day, in one of their several drives, Lena mentioned that she used to go to that same shelter for a warm dish. And now that she had a home of her own, she wanted to be the one helping.

"Officer Cabrera, come in" she heard her radio.

"Officer Cabrera, here, what's the status?"

"The truck with donations will arrive on sight any minute now; can you coordinate with them to unload the food?"

"10-4, I'll be right there" she cut communication "Kid" she called Lena "I'll be outside getting some boxes if you need me"

"Yeah, we'll be fine in here" she waved.

"Okay, I'll check on you later" she went back to the parking lot just in time to see two very agitated figures race towards her stopping short of colliding.

"Under what-?" Webby panted resting on her knees holding a finger up to ask for a moment to recover "Under what charges did you arrest Lena?"

"Charges?" she repeated completely aback.

"You need reasonable evidence, without charges you can't process her" Violet provided winded as well.

"Violet?" Cabrera took a good look at the hummingbird "Did Indigo sent you here?" she checked her phone, but there were no missed calls.

"Under what circumstances did you used your jurisdiction to get Lena on the back of the car?"

Then something clicked "Wait, Lena isn't under arrest" she clarified just in time too, Webby was already planning on a way to get the teen and highjack the vehicle.

"But we saw her in your car" Webby refuted "Where is she?"

"Inside" she pointed at her back "She's helping prepare dinner"

"Wait, what?"

"For the homeless shelter?" she gestured around and just then the two younglings took in their surroundings "She's been volunteering for almost three weeks now?" she provided noticing their confused expressions "You didn't know?" that question was directed at the hummingbird "your dad asked me to give her a ride since we wrap it up late and he didn't want her to walk home in the night. I mean, I've seen what your sister can do with shadows, she clearly doesn't need a police escort, but if it gives your dad peace of mind, then it's no trouble"

"So, she's been coming here?"

"Yeah, like I said, she's inside" the honk of a large truck cut them short "Listen, why don't you go see for yourselves? I need to take care of this"

After exchanging a glance, both girls walked in to find a sea of people moving around, going from one place to another preparing the ingredients. And in the middle of it all, there was laughter, all revolving around one figure.

"Lena?" Webby whispered, moving in closer to see the teen wearing an apron while peeling potatoes and talking to the cooks. All the adults seemed engrossed in the conversation, smiling and joking around, patting her shoulder, ruffling her hair, she seemed to belong.

"Remember when she first arrived?" a man said, "The expression she wore after tasting the tomato soup?"

The others laughed good-naturedly as well "Yeah her eyes went wide as she asked 'what kind of magic is this?' " he messed her short hair up as she half-heartedly pushed his hand away in mocked indignation.

"I've never tasted it before! Give me a break" she chuckled.

"Up to this day that's the best compliment one of our meals has ever gotten"

"But for real, the roast beef after that?" she added "that was on another level!"

"Thank you, thank you" one of the chefs took a couple of bows prompting more laughter.

"Let's see how we do now that you are helping, heh? You better be taking notes, kid. We'll test you later"

"My dad's been teaching me some stuff, I'll show you"

"Can't wait" one of them pulled her into a half hug and she leaned in.

The image was so bizarre and surreal for the two girls that gazed from afar at the interaction. Their Lena was laughing and making jokes with a bunch of people neither of them knew and she was having the time of her life. It was both an incredibly sweet and somehow sour image, why didn't they knew this part of her?

"Are you kids here to help?" Mildred approached them after noticing how lost them seemed.

"Um" Webby fidgeted.

"Yes" Violet jumped in "We came with Lena"

"Oh! Really?" she exclaimed "That's fantastic, let me take you to her" they reached the large table where the others worked "folks, we have two more pair of hands to help out" they were all turning around ready to greet them when she added "They are with Lena"

The teen turned around in a jolt, shocked to find their faces as the others waved lively at them.

"Ah! Friends of Lena!" the main cook shouted "why didn't you told us you would bring some people over?" he nudged her side, but Lena seemed to close into her shell again as she got down the stool approaching the other two.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a whisper, her brows knitted, and her hands fidgeting.

"Why, help, of course" Violet answered loudly, approaching the table where a space opened for her.

Lena rubbed her palm up and down her opposite arm "Um...guys, this is my sister, Violet and my best friend, Webby"

"Oh! Our Lena has talked so much about you two!"

"Really?" Webby asked dubious, noticing how awkward Lena had grown since their arrival, a shadow of who she had been displaying just moments prior.

"Yeah! She's been telling us all about it!"

"All of it?" Violet shot a glance at her, but by the way Lena tugged at her own friendship bracelet, it was clear not all of it. They didn't know about the magical part "Well, it's nice to finally meet you, especially since Lena has been spending so much of her time here"

"Come on, join in" Mildred ushered Webby and Lena back into the bench, sitting them together.

"Oh yeah, she's been great help" they all agreed "It's wonderful to know that after having to come here for so long she now has folks like you to take care of her"

Lena hunched forward, blushing madly as she busied herself with cutting the vegetables.

Webby tilted her head trying to read into her reaction, at how she avoided her eyes "Well…it's been great having her in our lives as well. At least for me was like having a piece I didn't know I was missing" she said in a soft loving tone, it was enough for Lena to try and steal a peek at her to see if she meant it, and of course Webby did.

"Say, does your dad really cooks as great as Lena says?"

Violet nodded "He is very talented. I'm sure he would have loved to come here too if an invitation had been extended"

Lena felt that jab nail her right in the guts.

"Well, I sure hope that your other dad gets better soon so he can come to visit"

"That's right! Lena was telling us that she got to help make him soup this morning"

"You were at home this morning?" Violet cut in "I tried calling you several times"

"Um, I went to buy some carrots for Indy, then we cooked together before I came here" she shrugged "I left my phone by the sink, sorry" she mumbled.

If there was something else to be said, it was cut off by one of the men "So, how did you meet?"

The question couldn't have been worse, not even if they knew the whole truth about the witch.

Lena swallowed hard, getting considerably paler.

"Um...one afternoon by the bay?" Webby offered the very basic truth.

"At a sleepover" Violet provided, both giving Lena an easy way out, but not before another question put her in the spot "How about you?" Violet asked. Lena had never seen her sister this upset. On the outside, the hummingbird seemed stoic as per usual, but the passive aggressiveness in her remarks was enough for Lena to feel exposed.

"Well, a lot of people come around winter, but this one kid?" the cook pointed with his spatula "she was jumping at her own shadow"

That made Webby grimace as Lena flinched, they couldn't even begin to understand how painfully accurate that statement was.

"Just very few people were as grateful as her, she used to say she could actually taste the word 'homemade' in our dishes" another added "so when she showed up here almost a month ago and told us all about her new family and how she wanted to be in our troops, we couldn't believe our luck. Our very own Lena on the other side of the line" there were a few teary eyes around the table, but they all blamed the onions. "That's a better happy ending than what we could have asked for"

"I'm- I'm going to see if Officer Cabrera needs help unloading the truck" Lena excused herself, quickly removing the apron and whipping her eyes. By the time she was at the parking lot, the sobs were already taking over.

"Lena!" Webby called, reaching her side, but the teen recoiled.

"Why did you come here?!" she demanded, hugging herself tight.

"I...we thought you…might need us" she admitted "Violet said you hadn't been at home lately and we worried that maybe Christmas was a rough season for you, we had no idea you were volunteering" she explained before rubbing her neck vulnerably, "why didn't you tell us? that you came here...that you know these people?"

"Because it was a part of my life I didn't want you guys to know about!" tears slipped past her defenses "Do you think I want you to know that I spent years coming to shelters during the winters because Magica wouldn't give me a moment's rest, let alone a meal?!"

Webby flinched "I...I didn't mean to pry" she tried to take a step closer, but Lena took one back.

"Please just leave" Lena half begged, trying to keep it all in.

"You don't want me near?" she asked weakly.

"I don't want you looking at me like I'm broken!"

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright"

"You don't have to keep saving me!" Lena snapped and tears formed at the verge of Webby's eyes.

"Don't take it out on Webbigail, it was me who brought up the issue" Violet walked outside the tent as well "And...I'm sorry I was pushing on the subject in there, I didn't mean to make you upset"

Lena huffed "Save it, Vi. You knew exactly which buttons to push" she sniffed "I guess I let my guard down for that one"

Violet seemed truly guilty at that remark, maybe because those accusations did carry some truth in them. She had been deliberated, she had known what would get a reaction out of her sister after having shared a living habitat.

"I just presumed...Christmas time should be spent with your family, I was trying to make sure you would" Violet verbalized "I guess I felt wounded you weren't trying to be part of ours"

Those words cut deeper than any dagger could have. Lena visibly pulled away, tears back in her eyes "Fine. Why don't you go back home then? Make sure at least they have one perfect daughter to spend Christmas with" she turned around.

"Lena, wait!" Webby called.

"Can you please leave me alone?! That's probably one good Christmas tradition I should keep, just me and my shadow!" she marched towards Cabrera's car.

"Kid?" the policewoman called noticing her reddened eyes "You okay, pequeña?"

"Do you have anything to do away from here?" she asked curtly.

"I have to pick up some presents a couple of toy stores donated for the kids that will come today"

"Perfect, I'll tag along" she opened the door shoving herself in the backseat, a place she knew all too well during the winter when someone would try to take her to child services. She knew at least nine different ways to get out, and right now, all she wanted was to be left in there so she could hide and cry.

***

Webby walked back into the tent while Violet had indeed gone home with nothing but a short farewell.

"Hey, where's Lena?" the cook asked, noticing Webby had come back on her own and that she looked positively broken.

"Well" she rubbed her arm "Officer Cabrera needed help, she'll be back later, I'm sure" she went to her seat, peeling absently.

They all shared knowing and worried looks "Say, kiddo" one of them started "How long have you known your friend?"

"Not as long as any of you, apparently" she didn't mean to sound so hurt, but there it was nonetheless.

"...She didn't mention it, huh?" one of the more robust chefs asked, although his size was monumental, his tone remained soft.

"It's fine, really. There's a lot I didn't know before, I just thought….she would trust me with more stuff about her life now"

"You are the 'Pink' one, right?" another asked, "that one friend she's always referring to, that's you, Webby?"

She gazed up "She calls me Pink, yeah"

"Then I'll say she trusts you more than anyone in the world"

A hum of agreement echoed throughout the large table.

"Yeah, she's always talking about how great it was to meet you"

"R-really?"

"Absolutely" a common nod filled the place, "she says you helped her out more than anyone, that you were her first real friend, that you saved her"

"I saved her?" she repeated "No, no, she's the one that saved me" she thought over at the battle with Magica.

"She's never mentioned that" one shrugged "She just said that you got her out of a very dark place in her life after being trapped there six months. And I must admit, it's very different to see her now compared to how she was before. I think we should thank you for that"

"Me?" she shook her head "before we arrived today she was laughing and joking and she seemed to belong!" she refuted "Soon as she saw me...she didn't look happy anymore"

"It's hard to be seen when you are vulnerable"

"She's was not vulnerable" Webby refuted "she was enjoying being with you"

"And we love having her around, but we are also a bit of a sour reminder of what her life used to be like. I guess she needed to come back and make peace with a bit of her past and...being caught redhanded in the middle of that while trying to rebuild her life can't be easy"

That made a lot more sense than Webby had expected "Ow...now I feel awful, I should have left it alone" she grumbled "She told me she didn't need me to keep saving her" she added sourly,"she doesn't need me meddling in her life"

There was a bit of a shift in the table "She probably didn't mean it like that" a voice emerged gently.

"How else could she have meant it?" Webby challenged more to herself than to them.

"Well…" they exchanged looks, agreeing to say what Lena had shared "Maybe she doesn't want to overwhelm you with her issues."

"But that's what friends do! Share their problems so they can be helped"

"That's true, yet sometimes other people might feel like a burden"

"What do you mean?" Webby asked hesitantly.

"Well, after you learned about her home situation what changed?"

"A lot of things, actually. I found out about some very awful events that happened to her and I've tried to make sure they can't harm her anymore"

"Believe us, she is grateful for it" he assured before laying a hand on her shoulder "But we have seen kids like her before. She was a neglected child, sharing her emotions is not something she was ever encouraged to do" Webby knew that was an understatement.

"And now that you know her background" someone else added " she might feel vulnerable, since she can't hide this part anymore. So wanting to keep the two events separated makes sense, doesn't it? She wants a bit of normality back, to when you couldn't see these scars"

That clicked, loud and clear "I never thought about it that way" she admitted.

"For now, give her a bit of space, I'm sure you caught her off-guard today."Mildred called from behind "That being said, don't let her shut herself out, nor take it out on you. She's a good girl, winters aren't always easy"

"Yeah…" Webby gazed down back at her chore at hand "Hey, how many volunteers do you have?"

***

Violet unlocked the door as she removed her scarf.

"Violet, is that you, nena?" she heard Indy's voice coming from the other room.

"Yeah, I'm home" she walked to the couch noticing Ty was out cold, probably a side effect of the medicine.

"Hey, honey" Indy greeted, pressing a kiss on her head affectionately "You had fun at the McDucks?"

"I actually ended up in a futile chase that led me to meet Lena at the shelter"

Indy flinched in the slightest "You found out, heh?"

"Was there a reason I shouldn't have been aware of it?"

"Well, she kind of asked me not to tell you"

"And you complied, why?"

"I keep your secrets too" he answered casually.

"Does it not bother you the fact that she has spent all her time away from home instead of with us?"

"Does it bother me that she's helping society? No?" he arched a brow "you spend a lot of time doing services for the Woodchucks too, cariño"

"I am aware, but I never put those activities above our time as a family. I was under the impression Lena was enjoying being part of it, but given that she didn't include us in her interest, nor has she spent time to be part of the seasonal activities…"

Indy hummed to himself "Come with me to the kitchen while we still talk, sí?" they reached the room as Indy moved through the place.

"Perhaps my inclination towards such events is because we truly bonded over this specific kind of activities upon my arrival"

"Yeah, that's the first time you agreed to do something other than research regarding the traditions, you helped put up the decoration and chose the most symmetrical pine tree possible, to this day that is still our prettiest one" he commented casually, dipping a spoon into the soup.

"I too think it was perfect" she nodded approvingly.

"Taste this for me, linda" he offered the spoon and Violet didn't hesitate to try it.

"And then-" Violet cut herself short "wait, you did change the recipe? It's different, it's good, but not your usual performance"

Indy smiled softly "Lena helped me," he said proudly "She's been picking up a few tricks from the shelter she wanted to share with me and was eager for me to teach her a few she could show there" he smiled softly, "She asked me if she could help make our Chrismas dinner," he added "we've been practicing together some nights and some mornings, it was supposed to be a surprise for the two of you" he gestured towards Ty.

"I...I had no idea"

"I know" Indy shrugged "but she's been trying to find something we could do, turns out cooking works for us and Ty loved her version of the brew" he leaned in to smell it "So she's been trying to take part of the seasonal activities, just in a different way than you do, Cielo" he turned to her "so when she asked us permission to go back there, to where she got her first taste of a homemade meal, of course we let her, no matter if it was close to Christmas Eve"

Violet gazed down ashamed "I...I said some truly hurtful things to my sister" she admitted "Can you call her please? I need to offer her my sincere apologies"

"I would" Indy picked up her phone "But she left it" and then it started ringing.

***

Cabrera stopped at a red light, the truck filled with toys following closely as they escort it back to the shelter. The ride had been silent, so when her phone rang filling in the silence, she was actually glad. And a bit surprised when she saw who was reaching out.

"Mrs. S-" she cut herself off at the sound of the familiar voice that urged her to be subtle "Sí. Estamos bien" she answered taking a quick look through the rearview, seeing Lena hugging her knees to her chest while gazing outside the window "No estoy segura que pasó pero creo que sería mejor que fuera a casa temprano hoy. No. No estamos en el centro, pero estamos en camino. Sí, te devuelvo la llamada. Adiós" she hung up taking a second glance at the mirror.

"Recuerdas que puedo hablar cuatro idiomas, cierto?" Lena said, finally glancing back.

"Sorry, pequeña. Your dad was worried, you didn't take your phone with you today"

"Yeah, I forgot it in the kitchen" she sighed stretching in the back "But I might take your offer and go home early" she rested against the cristal "I'm not feeling up to it"

"Was it a rough day at the shelter?"

"Not the shelter just…" she shrugged unable to find a way to say it "the memories?" she mumbled to herself.

"Dime….why do you do it?"

"I told you before" she shrunk a shoulder "I used to go there"

"But there's a bit more into it, isn't it?"

Lena kept quiet for so long Cabrera worried she had made her upset, but after a deep breath, her voice broke the spell "Christmas time always sucked, so making it better for others evens out the feeling. I kind of wanted to share what I have now to others that have it as bad as I did" she admitted heartedly, still looking out the window.

Cabrera smiled genuinely at her words "That's probably the best reason I've heard" her phone rang a second time "Sorry, I'll have to take this"

"I thought it was illegal to drive and be on the phone?" she challenged teasingly.

Cabrera smiled endearingly "I hope you also know your rights"

"Yep, I've heard them a million times in a dozen different countries, each with their own jurisdiction"

"Esa es mi chica" she answered the call without checking the ID. And before she could even get a word in, a full report was said to her, and without a moment to spare, she hung up.

Lena arched a brow "Well, I guess you can have deniability if you say you actually didn't talk through the phone"

"Some calls are like that" she shrugged, but her face showed something in it "and I better say now that I'm sorry we won't be able to bail early today" she took a turn arriving at the parking lot "because our little event just got some sponsoring" she pulled over in front of dozens of trucks that kept on unloading food and presents for everyone while several volunteers got on deck.

"What the-?" Lena got out of the car dazzled as she saw the sea of people.

"Go find out" Cabrera said with a huge smile.

Lena immediately tried to find Mildred to get some kind of an explanation, when she saw Scrooge McDuck handing her a check with an obscene number of zeros in it.

"Expect another one next year and the year after that and so on," he said happily "I believe this is a worthy cause"

"Thank you, Mr. McDuck!" she shook his hand repeatedly.

"No need to thank me" he turned, meeting Lena's gaze, winking an eye before going to the back ready to help as well.

"What is going on?" she asked out loud, utterly confused.

"We are here for you," Webby said and Lena turned around to find her and Violet standing there.

"Pink? Vi?"

"We didn't know this was something you needed to do, not only for yourself but to help others and...even if it's hard, we want you to know you can talk to us about these things"

"And we promise not to overstep your privacy. If what you need are space and time, we'll give you just that" Violet added.

"So you don't have to shut out your past entirely from us. Even the parts that aren't pretty- "

"Which are a lot, actually" Lena sarcastically cut in unable to keep the sob out of her voice.

"We'll still be here for you" Webby concluded "through the hurt and happiness alike"

"I said some terrible things" Lena's tone quivered.

"I did equal damage" Violet approached her handing her a wrapped box "here"

"What's this?" Lena took it.

"An early present" she stated "open it"

Lena did, finding inside a pair of mittens with some embroidery in them.

"Dad likes to bake a lot around New Years', I thought they might be helpful" Violet provided "What I said regarding your involvement in the family...I was being unfair. It came to my attention that cooking with Indy and trying to make us all a meal we could enjoy was your way of trying to belong in the family and I overlooked that" she shrugged "And I'm sorry" she said honestly "I understand if you rather not refer yourself as my sister any longer, and I won't hold it against-" she was cut off by her embrace.

"Shut up, nerd. You'll always be my sister, for someone so smart you should know that. We might fight and you will hit too close to home now and then, but that's because you know me. And I'm grateful that you took the time to get to know me and be so invested in the idea that I belonged. I know in your own weird way it's because you care"

"I do care" Violet hugged her back "I truly don't believe there would be a better sister for me"

"Love you too" Lena whispered into the embrace. She then let go looking at Webby.

"Pink I…" she rubbed the back of her neck "I...will always want you by my side, it's just...I didn't want you to see me at my lowest yet for another time but...you always come back for me, even when I don't deserve yo-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence" Webby tackled her into a bone-crushing hug "You deserve the world, you intricate and beautiful soul" she gazed up lovingly with her big sparkly round eyes.

"I truly don't know why you won't give up on me," Lena said softly "but I'm glad you haven't" she enveloped her in arms as well. She couldn't bear the idea of dragging Webby through any more danger and yet, the reassurance that the smaller girl would always be there for her was the best feeling ever. But Lena promised herself she wouldn't make Webby save her anymore. She would save her own life so they could both finally start moving forward...

As the night carried on, they served food, shared laughs, and told stories all while getting to see a bit of the past Lena had lived and the people she had met. And as the teen witch gazed around at the first people that offered her a warm plate at the shelter, and then at the first family that opened their doors to her at the manor and finally the one family she had chosen to belong to, she realized, she didn't have to hide away any part of her life, all the little fragments built her up to be who she was now.


End file.
